Check

Less than a month after being acquired by Intuit, Check has announced that it is expanding the beta program for its latest innovation: photo bill pay.

Starting this week, tens of thousands of Android users will have the opportunity to take Check’s photo bill pay technology for a trial run. The company hopes to have its photo bill pay solution available on all platforms by the end of the year.

How does Check’s photo bill pay work? Start with an Android smartphone, an installed Check app, and an unpaid bill. Users open the camera icon on the app, and then take a photo of the bill with their smartphone. The next screen provides the user with some basic information, as well as a scanned copy of the bill.

Consumers can pay with whatever payment method they prefer, such as a bank account or credit card. The bill can be paid immediately or scheduled for payment at a later date.

As Check sees it, not only is photo bill pay a great convenience for the consumer, but also the technology supports the company’s mission to promote a paper-free world when it comes to managing personal finances.

Note that the photo bill pay technology is free to use and works with any payment method.

Check announced this morning that it has signed a new partnership with Direct Energy. This means the customers of Direct Energy, one of the largest retail producers of electricity and natural gas in North America, will have the ability to pay their utility bill via their smartphone and Check’s mobile app.

Check COO, Steve Schultz, said in a statement:

“(Direct Energy) understands how important the mobile experience is to customers’ satisfaction today. Partnering with Check complements Direct Energy’s great efforts to successfully attract and retain customers.”

Direct Energy serves six million customers in the U.S. and Canada. The company operates in 46 states and in 10 Canadian provinces.

Check’s technology makes it easy for consumers to track and pay bills by consolidating and automating the bill pay process. Consumers can rely on Check to let them know what bills are coming due when, and then pay them automatically via the mobile app.

Partnerships with utility companies like Direct Energy are a major component of Check’s overall strategy for growth. Local, state, and regional partnerships with Alltel Wireless, New Jersey Natural Gas, and Arlington Water have helped Check grow the number of consumers who consistently take advantage of the technology. Payments costs are lower, and the amount of time spent tracking and paying bills is greatly reduced.

Founded in 2008 and rebranded as Check early in the summer of 2013, the company was acquired by Intuit in May, a transaction that closed on Monday. More than 10 million consumers use the Check app to pay bill using their mobile device.